Guns N’ Roses Photography

Roaring out of Los Angeles in the mid-’80s, Guns N’ Roses instantly established themselves as one of the most dominant forces in hard rock and heavy metal. At the group’s core was helium-high singer Axl Rose, guitar god Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler.

The group proved unstoppable for the rest of the ’80s, thanks to 1987’s landmark Appetite for Destruction LP, alongside the subsequent singles “Welcome To the Jungle,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Paradise City.” The band made even more history releasing Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II on the same day in 1991, taking the first and second slots on the Billboard charts and selling 35 million combined copies.

Though many of the original members went separate ways, Rose kept the band going and even finished the perpetually delayed Chinese Democracy project in 2008. Come 2016, Rose, Slash, and McKagan finally reunited for the “Not in This Lifetime” Tour, which brought these Rock and Roll Hall of Famers back to arenas and stadiums all around the world.